the lebanese armed group hezbollah says it launched dozens of rockets towards israel. that's as the uk and us urge their citizens to leave lebanon because of fears of an all out war. bricks and bottles have been thrown at police as far—right rallies turned violent in england and northern ireland. hello, i'm carl nasman. hezbollah says it has fired dozens of rockets towards israel from southern lebanon. it is reported about 30 rockets were fired in communities in northern israel, one landed in the town of beit hillel. the army says most rockets were intercepted and others landed in open areas and there were no reports of casualties. tensions are very high in the region since wednesday's killing of the hamas

chief ismail haniyeh. hezbollah and other regional allies promised retaliation for the killings. israel claimed responsibility for the killing of the hezbollah commander but has not made any comment on ismail haniyeh's killing. the us embassy in beirut has warned citizens to leave lebanon on any ticket available. there are crowds of passengers queueing at the airport departure table. the uk government is also calling for british nationals in lebanon to leave, warning the situation could deteriorate rapidly. our correspondence are special flights may be needed to everyone that can leave. the foreign secretary today was blunt. he said, "leave now." now, david lammy was in beirut this week with the new defence secretary. he said the situation could deteriorate rapidly. he said the consequences could be catastrophic. they hope that people will leave by commercial flights, which are still operating, but the government is now gearing up for a possible

evacuation, if that's needed. and to that end, they're sending extra military personnel, they're sending extra consular officials and border force staff to the region as contingency planning. they won't say how many people are going or where, but the last evacuation from lebanon, when there was a war in 2006, that was by boat to cyprus, which is very close to lebanon, where there's already a british army presence. now, the statement issued by the government today said that two military ships are already in the region, and the raf is putting helicopters on standby. the government is still hoping for a diplomatic solution, for de—escalation, but fears are growing that if and when hezbollah retaliates for that killing, israel will attack lebanon hard. meanwhile, israel bombed a school compound in gaza city on saturday, killing at least 15 palestinians, according to local officials. this is the moment the strike hits the school. footage reviewed by the bbc that is too graphic

to broadcast shows emergency crews carrying away charred bodies on stretchers. we can show you this footage of injured children being stretchered away. gaza's hamas—run media office said the school was sheltering displaced people. israel's military claims the school served as a hamas command centre. hamas denies this. accusations that it uses civilian sites like schools and hospitals. an emergency official said there were two strikes on the school, the first one without warning. translation: the occupation army targeted to school - without warning which led to a number of murders and injuries. our crews were able to transfer some of the murdered but not all of them, because the enemy contacted one of the people at the school and told him to evacuate the entire school. we withdrew from the area and the school was targeted again 20 minutes later. it's been reported that us general of american forces has arrived in the region as the pentagon employs extra jets and warships there.

i spoke to merissa khurma, director of the middle east programme at the wilson center. what was your reaction to the developing news and dozens of rockets being fired towards israel? that's what was was expected and that is what commanders and iran have announced since first the assassination of fuad shukr in beirut but then later the assassination of ismail haniyeh in tehran. we are likely to see a lot more escalation as well, they basically promised severe punishment and earlier today i believe the un mission of iran also pledged that there would be a retaliation not only against military targets in israel but also civilian targets. the word of the day amongst

hezbollah supporters and also iran is revenge, this is what we are seeing and hearing and that was very much expected stop it of course calls for deescalation are ramp and across the region. it has appeared on the part of hezbollah and israel, even iran when we saw a tit for tat exchange earlier this year between israel and iran that all sides involved have wanted to pretty much avoid a larger conflict. do you get the sense that is still true now? i think that is still true but of course there are elements on the ground that took place, namely in the last few days. that changed the calculus. that changed the formula that we discussed and any sort of ad hoc move or any mistake or any miscalculation could eventually lead to all—out regional war which everyone wants to avoid.

there is fatigue in the region across the region not only among the people of the region who are watching the news 21w, basically watching death in the making and the suffering of the palestinian people in particular in gaza. no—one wants to see this expand further to lebanon, which is a country that is of course having its own challenges from a political stalemate to economic distrust. this is the last thing lebanon needs but clearly there are worries in the united states amongst the us administration and we have heard from the uk as well that things may go out of control and the key now is to focus on intensive diplomatic efforts and a lot of back channelling to ensure that there is a political solution to this conflict. we have seen a lot of that in recent days. we have seen that rocket attack now and this is nothing new, we have seen plenty of rocket

fire in the many months since october 7 but remind us about hezbollah and what kind of capabilities they have, should it wish to launch a larger attack? hezbollah has very significant capabilities and of course surpasses the military capabilities of hamas who the idf have been ways are focused on in gaza. perhaps there's more confidence that now with the assassinations that hamas capabilities have been severely limited. hezbollah is a completely different animal in this game, with significant capabilities and missiles and its main patron iran remains fully supportive all the way and this is why basically it represents a significant existential threat to israel but as things wind down in gaza, the hope

is that things do not escalate further in lebanon. it seems that the two assassinations we have witnessed particularly that ismail haniyeh was assassinated in the heart of tehran could really unfold in a way that none of the regional leaders as well as the united states and others in europe want to see the middle east move forward. more than 80 people have been arrested after sense of violence in several uk towns and cities on saturday. uk prime minister keir stamer announced his full support for the police. police have been online in a string of cities in england, northern ireland and several people have been injured. tension is a higher after disinformation field after disinformation field after the fatal stabbing of three girls in southport on monday. saturdays disturbances came up a violent night in

sunderland on friday, four police officers were hospitalised and i2 police officers were hospitalised and 12 people were injured. the home secretary condemned the violence emphasising those involved will be held to account. criminal violence and disorder has no place on britain's streets. we have been clear to the police that they have our full backing in taking the strongest possible action against perpetrators, including we are making sure that there are more prosecutors, there are sufficient prison places and also that the courts stand ready, because anyone who engages in this kind of disorder needs to be clear that they will pay the price. in liverpool, our reporter dan johnson witnessed the protests and sent this report. across many towns and cities, the police have been stretched, fighting running battles. this was the scene in blackpool this afternoon. and here's how protests turned to violence in hull city centre.

there have been injuries, but mostly to police officers. they struggled to maintain order in liverpool, where two counter demonstrations clashed near the waterfront. antifascist protesters confronted around 1,000 from the far right, chanting anti—immigrant slogans. the police are now forcing back the antifascist demonstrators. they're trying to create a bit of space between the two sides. watch how this motorbike officer was treated. merseyside police described this as serious disorder, and the home secretary is promising action nationwide. we will give the police all the backing that they need in the actions that they are taking in response to this criminal disorder and thuggery, because it has no place on britain's streets. that's why we're ensuring there are additional prosecutors in place this weekend, that the courts stand ready.

there are people in custody. this was leeds. and another far right demonstration in manchester led to further arrests. northern ireland's been affected, too. there were street protests in belfast. the police are under pressure. but some are accusing them of double standards. listen to this officer outside a mosque in stoke. "if there's any weapons, get rid them," he appears to say. "we're not going to make any arrests." but racist chants and anti—islamic slogans have also been widespread in these protests. sunderland saw serious rioting last night after a far right demonstration erupted and a number of police officers were injured there. today, they were clearing up and assessing the damage. during the course of the evening, our officers were met with serious and sustained levels of violence.

this was not a protest. this was unforgivable violence and disorder. the police are braced for more of this. there are further protests planned in coming days. the demonstrations are spreading, and so is the violence. tonight, the streets of liverpool are alight, and many people are desperately asking what any of this has to do with events in southport this week. dan johnson, bbc news, liverpool. venezuelan president nicolas maduro says he will not accept the opposition�*s attempt to "usurp the presidency," as protests continue across the country. venezuela's opposition leader, maria corina machado, led a mass rally in caracas on saturday, defying government calls for her arrest. she urged her supporters to continue protesting peacefully and said the government led by mr maduro has lost all legitimacy since sunday's disputed elections. ms machado went into hiding earlier this week after accusing maduro and his party of defrauding the opposition

candidate, edmundo gonzalez, of a clear victory. the us secretary of state antony blinken spoke over the phone with the opposition on friday. in a statement, he said... an analysis by the associated press of vote sheets released by the opposition suggests edmundo gonzalez received 6.89 million votes, nearly half a million more than the government says mr maduro won. more than 1000 opposition demonstrators had been arrested since protest began. here's what ms machado said to supporters. translation: the world knows they intend to forcefully - withhold the result. six days later, they have not handed over a single record. the period has expired and no pseudo—legal manoeuvre can cover up the truth. the truth is in our tallies and the fact is in our hearts.

this week saw the largest prisoner exchange between russia and the west since the cold war. 2a people from seven different countries returned home on thursday, including three americans. but some are still being held abroad. us presidentjoe biden says he will continue to pressure russia to release americans that were left out of the deal. one of them is marc fogel. the school teacher was arrested in 2021 on smuggling charges. he is serving 1a year sentence. you can see him here on the right, at a russian airport, where he was found to be carrying a small amount of medical marijuana. his family has urged the biden administration to do more to bring him home. earlier i spoke to his sister ann fogel, who told me she is hopeful about his chance to come home. i am clinging to whatever hope i can, so, yes,

to a certain degree, and the administration pulled off a masterful, incredible swap, and they should be congratulated, and i'm very happy for the return of paul and evan and alsu. ijust wish my brother was among them. when you speak to your brother, do you get a sense of his condition there? you mentioned he is able to follow the news, you're able to talk with him. how is he doing? this is especially difficult because it comes on the heels of 21 days in a prison hospitalfor him. he was released on the 21st which ironically is the day that they, i guess, formalised the list of who was coming home.

but marc was in a prison hospital, which is not actually... i'm not certain it is really a hospital at all, but he was given many, many, many, many shots, injections, drugs, and they did an ultrasound of his liver, and of course he does not speak russian and there are no translators, so it was very alarming for him. and it's the fourth time he has been in a hospital like that, so i think he's been really slammed by this news and is having a very difficult time right now. the bbc has started removing

huw edwards from archived footage after the former newsreader pleaded guilty of images that showed child six abuse. it comes as the sunday times reported a woman twice complained to the bbc about edwards and is having therapy paid for by the corporation. a bbc spokesperson said it was investigates complaints fully and provided support to those involved. it also merge the former chair of the bbc publicly thanked edwards for his contribution to the organisation despite knowing he had been arrested in november. are porter has more. dame elan closs stephans was appointed interim chair in june last year just weeks before the sun newspaper first published allegations about mr edwards�* private life. those allegations were completely separate to the recent criminal charges brought against him and didn't lead to any criminal investigation. referring to those allegations on a welsh language radio programme, dame elan referred to the now disgraced newsreader as "poor huw."

she praised his huge contributions. she was aware that edwards had been arrested last year but was not aware of the details which emerged in court on wednesday this week. she said she is horrified by those details and that her thoughts are with the children whose images are so central to this story. i asked her whether she was made aware of the nature of the investigation into huw edwards in november, she hasn't answered that question. neither has she answered my question whether she stands by the comments made on that radio programme. there will be people asking whether she was wise to publicly praise him when she knew at the very least he had been arrested in november last year. the second weekend of the olympics games is under way in paris. sprinterjulian alford brought home st lucia's first medal. she raced in the 100 metre final. she set a national record. american track star sha'carri richardson secured

the silver, and bronze was claimed by fellow team usa athlete melissa jefferson. earlier, american gymnast simone biles came first in the women's vault, collecting her third gold medal of the 2024 games. the algerian boxer beat her hungarian opponent in the quarterfinals. she is guaranteed at least a bronze. i spoke to the senior writer for the athletic. there was so much action today. i want to start off at the swimming pool, the usa's katie ledecky entering the history books. a pretty incredible thing, just the longevity. she started when she was just a teenager, and sort of a young teenager. i think she was about 15 years old. she won this event, the 800 metres for the first time, in london. at the time, it was, who is this girl? she came out of nowhere

and upset the british champion. now, she has becomejust about the greatest female 0lympian out there. certainly the greatest female swimmer. who has ever competed at this level. the most decorated american female 0lympian athlete of all time, just incredible. to the track and field, which is now getting into full swing. a lot of fun stuff going on, but i guess you might say a bit of a surprise in the women's100 metres. i do think that is a surprise, yes. sha'carri richardson was definitely the favourite, she's been the fastest woman in the world this year, but she was upset, she ended up with the silver medal, lost to julien alford of st lucia of all places. runners from the west indies have historically performed terrifically on the international stage, many of them, i say most of them, end up at american colleges, where they train and get top coaching,

and that's what they have done. she was at the university of texas, 23 years old, i believe, and shejust ran a great race, sha'carri ran a great race too, but she was a little slow out of the blocks. i think she ran 10.89 seconds, i bet if you had asked her if her time would win, she probably would have said yes, but alford was just lights out. she ran like 10.72, a tenth of a second or so off the record from ages ago. a first gold medal for st lucia. a pretty small country. 0nly only 180,000 0nly180,000 people that live there. we have to mention, as many people call her, the greatest of all time, simone biles, in the gymnastics, winning her tenth olympic medal, her third gold of the games, this time in the vault.

what is so incredible about simone biles in the situation is, three years ago, she had just a really rocky olympics in tokyo, and she essentially had panic attacks and was just overcome by fear. they call it the twisties in gymnastics. and getting over that and deciding to come back, this is a sport where women, they are still girls often when they retire, but when women do not compete in as many 0lympics as simone biles has, and she has been so good for so long, just shows no signs of tailing off, i don't know if this is going to be her last 0lympics, there's a home olympics in four years. at this point, it's pretty hard to see why she would stop. will we see simone biles in los angeles, in 2028?

that would be really the scene. speaking of scenes, one of the most unique things about this olympics in paris has been some of the settings that the city has utilised. we saw the fencing with this really incredible, grand room where they are doing the fencing, but also the triathlon, swimming in the river seine. you were there to watch it. there were doubts about whether this would happen. how did the triathlon events turn out? it turned out great. great to watch, great to be a spectator. little rough if you were a triathlete, and the reason was not the murkiness and the pollution in the river, although we might find out about that in a few days, if some runners get sick, but the problem was the current. there was a very strong current in the river that day and so they were, the swimmers were going on a sort of loop, and they had to loop twice

around, and they started out swimming west and then they turned back east, and one of the triathletes was telling me afterwards, she felt like she was swimming on a treadmill. she was concerned they would have to stop the race because the current was going so strong, but they ploughed through, they made it, and it was an absolutely spectacular race to watch. swimming in the seine and then cycling and running past many of the iconic sites in one of the world's most beautiful cities. very briefly, about 20 seconds left, but what are you watching for this weekend? i am a tennis guy, and sunday is carlos alcaraz against novak djokovic, i don't know how many more times these two players are going to play. one is the greatest of all time, the other might eventually be the greatest of all time, and it is this great intergenerational matchup between djokovic and alcaraz, but also because it's the olympics, between spain and serbia.

let's turn to some other important news around the world. at least 32 people are dead and 63 others injured after a suicide attack carried out by al shabab militants at a popular beachfront location in somalia's capital mogadishu. al shabab controls large parts of southern and central somalia and is linked to al-qaeda. the group released a statement taking responsibility for the attack, and claims the casualties are much higher than figures released by police. former president trump annnounced that he will no longer participate in the previosly scheduled presidential debate on september tenth hosted by the abc network. instead, he says he will only debate vice president harris, the presumpive democratic nominee, if she agrees to his terms — a debate on september fourth hosted by fox news. trump posted to his social network truth social saying, the harris campaign says it is open to discussing further debates but only after the abc debate is held. stay tuned, we have more coming up at the top of the hour on bbc news. hello there.

for part two of the weekend, it looks like low pressure will be affecting more north—western parts of the country, whereas further south, thanks to the ridge of high pressure, we should see a lot of dry and settled weather. quite a bit of cloud around on sunday, but some sunny spells here and there and conditions turning wetter and windier thanks to this area of low pressure across northern ireland and western scotland as we go through the day. but much of central and eastern scotland, england and wales, quite a bit of cloud, like i mentioned, but also some sunny breaks here and there, and pleasantly warm — high teens to low 20s from north to south across the country. now, it'll be turning windier and wetter across the northwest of the uk as we head through sunday night, the rain really starting to pile into northern ireland, certainly across scotland, western scotland seeing most of that rain. some of the rain could be quite heavy, perhaps even thundery in a few places. but we'll be drawing up some warm and muggy air, so by monday morning, areas starting off with temperatures around the mid—teens. for monday, we have this area of low pressure almost in situ to the northwest of the uk, with this weather front bringing further heavy rain

to the north and west. we're scooping up this very warm and humid air from the near continent. so a wet, windy day to come for northern and western scotland, some heavy rain at times, could see some disruption across western scotland. for parts of eastern scotland, certainly england and wales, it'll stay mostly dry, with some spells of sunshine and feeling warm and humid, mid to high 20s in celsius. warm and muggy across scotland. tuesday night, we see that weather front crossing the country. some of the rain could be heavy, maybe thundery on it, even as it pushes towards eastern areas. it'll take its time to clear the southeast on tuesday, so rather cloudy, some spots of rain. behind it, the air turns fresher again with plenty of sunshine, a few showers for western scotland and northern ireland. temperatures 19 to 2a or 25 degrees, so those values coming back down again with lower humidity. as we move out to tuesday into wednesday, low pressure affects the northern half of the country again. stronger winds, outbreaks of rain, higher pressure towards the south. so again, it's going to be a blustery day on wednesday for scotland, maybe the far northwest of england, northern ireland, with a few showers. further south, tending to stay

dry with variable cloud coming and going and some spells of sunshine. again, low to mid 20s in the south, high teens, low 20s in the north. and as we end the week, we hold on to that theme, with low pressure always bringing more cloud and rain at times to the north of the uk. higher pressure continues to bring more settled and warmer conditions further south.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. americast. americast, from bbc news. folks, it's time to take stock. it's been, to put it mildly, a busy few weeks. we're going to step back. we're going to look at the assassination attempt. we're going to look at biden dropping out. we're going to look at harris dropping in — very much — harris dropping in, and what happens next. but we're also going to look at it from an historical perspective because we've got an old friend, a colleague of mine, nick bryant, on. and nick is not only old, but he is also a genuine historian. he's written serious books about the american experience. so we are ready for an absolutely classic episode. and for that episode we have these. welcome to americast.

americast. americast, from bbc news.